WID/Gender Units and the Experience of Gender Mainstreaming in Multilateral Organisations

This report documents the history of the institutionalisation of WID/gender concerns from 1985 onward in three multilateral organisations, namely UNDP, FAO and the World Bank. It considers WID/gender concerns within the organisational context of the organisations’ "headquarters" in New York, Rome and Washington respectively, focusing on policy developments, organisational forms, strategies and activities over time, paying particular attention to gender mainstreaming. It then looks at gender mainstreaming aspects at country level, using Uganda, Malawi and Bangladesh as examples. The study’s ultimate aim is to document and evaluate the efficacy of Norwegian funding aimed at strengthening WID/gender concerns in the multilateral organisations, giving recommendations for future areas of support.